Monday June 24 Hot Tips And Other Little Gems From Around And About

•   The Larter Family's inspiration from the Kolmarden Wildlife Park in Sweden, for their new Gondola proposal for Launceston's Cataract Gorge Reserve, has now identified a fourth contender vying to build a cable car tourist attraction in Launceston.

•  The Glebe Farm, being reduced in size by the UTas land grab for 'platform farming and carparking', is being investigated for utilising the balance area for a Tasmanian Wildlife exhibit to be accessed and viewed via a cablecar gondola. Utilising some of the old QVMAG dinosaur models, a realistic swampland environment will give an authenticism to its overall Gondwanaland theme. 

•  Flooding risks accepted, a feature for the kiddies amusement and useful from an educational viewpoint will be a facsimile Noah's Ark, not inappropriate in terms of including infrastructure to withstand inundations. 

•  Older residents of Launceston, will recall the once-proposed Dinosaur Park by leading entrepreneur Roger Smith for the West Tamar Highway wetlands below Trevallyn in the 1970's. The Glebe Gondwanaland attraction is intended to cater for night time openings to take advantage of special effects sound lighting and strobe lighting displays, attracting customers from around its perimeter to this centralised wonderland.
•  There are quite a few collectors in Northern Tasmania who are quite angry that they were not told soon enough about the QVMAG Garage Sale a week or so back. The advertising was so bad that nobody turned up and all the goodies that the mates mates could not find a place for at home went to the tip apparently. It is said that there may be another after the consultant's report is released and there might be some really good goodies up for the taking in that one. Keep an eye out here we'll let you know if we get any news.
• . City TAFE Campus will be moving to Alanvale by the end of the year, save Drysdale, which has too much invested in Paterson Street to be part of the relocation move. This could free up the Wellington St Campus for QVMAG, allowing consolidation on to a single site at last. That in turn would open the door for UTas to take over the remaining part of the Stone Building at Inveresk…..they don't want the 'tin shed' bits 'though because that is too contaminated …..hmm watch that space before Don Railway are coaxed along to become interested as an occupier? 
• . The QVMAG is sitting on a secret consultant's report that it is said makes a case for closing QVMAG Inveresk campus to the public and turn  all the buildings UTas doesn't want into storage. The clean out has already started.
• . Disappointments expressed concerning the loss of the 3 flagpoles at the Myer end of the Brisbane Street Mall have led to further doubts being expressed that a third flagpole will not be erected on the Town Hall rooftop so that the traditional daily raising of an Aboriginal flag in a prominent location will disappear. So far there are no flagpoles at the new Government offices at C H Smith Centre. The lone flagpole atop the Public Offices on St John Street that was taken down for repairs has still not been returned, and so it may become necessary for Westpac Bank to re-start its National campaign to erect prominent flagstaffs on round-a-bouts at city entrances.
• . On the topic of badging or marking out one's territory, the stripped down yellow steel signage structure on the Invermay frontage of the Inveresk Cultural Site, remains 'un-dressed' leading to further anxiety that Queen Victoria Museum will not be remaining there. When originally erected, this sign was argued as being essential to the business plan for QVMAG, but is obviously no longer required, as the Museum seems to happily remain at Inveresk, well-hidden behind circles of plane trees.
• . On the Gorge, the Council has sacked all its volunteers at the cottage and around and about really disappointing many given that they had local knowledge the visitors kept on telling them they valued. Anyway, when the accolades went out at the Volunteer Awards there were none for that dedicated band Gorge volunteers. The Mayor wondered why they hadn't been invited and why there were no awards for them. Well, if you sack people it seem there are no awards for saving the city money or losing good services.

Wednesday June 19 2019 Roundup Of Some Of The Gems Around Town At The Moment

• One of Launceston’s newest Councillors intends to pursue an idea to construct shops akin to Italy’s Ponte Vecchio on the Cataract Gorge Bridge when he gets it closed to traffic. Trevallyn folk will have to drive via Riverside. 

• Did you see former Tasmanian Premier ‘Big Red’ lunching at a waterside restaurant with Launceston entrepreneur Jo Pentridge? 

• Development guru Errol Stewart spotted eyeing off his neighbour’s Foundry property that adjoins his car dealership, JAC’s Custom House offices and the soon-to-be-spare Paterson Barracks. 

• A flower shop on St Georges’ Square has been purchased for Catherine’s hairdressing and coffee shoppe. 

• Errol’s yet-to-be occupied C H Smith Centre is rumoured to have been sold off already to a large superannuation fund freeing up capital for the next adventure. 

• The UTas insurance provider has refused to insure buildings located on Launceston’s flood risk land leaving a UTas liability question mark. 

• It is finally revealed that the newly-approved Gorge Hotel behind the TRC Hotel in Paterson St will be able to provide a roof-top launching point for a cable car system strung high above the West Tamar Highway to the top of West Launceston’s Cataract Hill before heading into the First Basin Reserve. 

• Not to be outdone by rival JAC Group, Errol is teaming up with the Larter family to rebuild and extend the Basin Chairlift deep to within the Cataract Gorge Reserve. 

• Harvey Norman’s major homewares opponent IKEA may be keen to occupy a new building flagged for construction behind Invermay’s Bunnings. 

• A fourth tenant for ‘Red Ned’s Bar’ is on the horizon. 

• One of Errol’s Twin Towers at Kings Wharf may have to become a place for emergency housing to address chronic homelessness in Tasmania. 

• Penny Royal’s Gunpowder Mill attraction may soon exhaust cashflow reserves due to spectacular mounting losses mounting since it re-opened a couple of years ago. 

• Launceston’s newest high-rise the under-construction Verge Hotel, may not grow to its full height due to subsidence in the lower levels. Shades of Sydney towers? .

• The new Northern High Security Prison may yet be built with glorious Tamar views. 

• Tasmania’s next Governor may come from the North if Sue Hickey remains disinterested. 

• Contented cattle and irrigated crops at Glebe Farm may give way to a $5M bid to build a sea of cars for UTas Inveresk, well at least during dry weather. 

• Part of Utas land Grab from Launceston ratepayers at Inveresk is mooted to be returned to Launceston Council, as not all of the Old Bike Track is needed afterall. 

• Show Society land towards the Round House will be now usurped for more car parking to fix traffic congestion having access from Forster Street.

Tuesday, 18 June 2019 News from a coffee cup or two

Introducing Doreen who is back in town after sojourn up north and before that Paris no less. She picked up a couple of carats OS had lots of fun on The Coast taking in the winter sun on the front with the girls. In a cople of days it will be KL on business whatever. .

It's always good fun with D as she always know someone who know someone who has got all the goss. Doing coffee whe she is in town is as they say quite different. It seems things are reving up in good old Lonnie with Gorge Hotel getting a big tick. Quiet little drinks all around and the good stuff too. 

'H' played it cool and G will be pleased sinse she want to catch upwith D "somewhere nice" when the ship comes in. Council meetings are getting easier and easier now the numbers are pretty much known and as for the noisies, they are surrounded as they say. 

All those things we wanted to do and couldn't are within reach again. D has been coffeeing with an old friend and sh is over the moon since the elections. As she says, the seeds for money trees are all over the place and good old Lonnie will soon have some loverly penthouses. She is also saying get in early or you will miss out. Think about the Gold Coast but Lonnie looks like being a whole lot quicker. 

Just watch how quickly the Gorge cable car gets approved now that E has freed up his money. Now that the council has set the pattern for secret meeting anything can happen. Council meetings now only go 20 minutes to half an hour and are quite tame affairs. Yes, all this is rumour but there is a strange sense of confidence in the air with the hotel approved and the council under control. As they say in Hollywood, keep it coming boys and girls and let us have some fun.

Thank you D!

Tandra Vale

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